Fulbright students and scholars at the launch of the Mentoring Program.
LAST THURSDAY DEC. 8 evening, the Mentoring Committee of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association organized an informal meeting to recruit alums who might be interested in becoming mentors or who would like to become engaged in the Fulbright in the Classroom Program.
The gathering took place at Fulbright alumnus Michael Schlesinger’s Logan Square home who welcomed, along with this wife Rhoda, the mentoring committee members and the alumni who came to find out how they could be involved in the programming. Enjoying wine and hors d’oeuvres, the guests learned about the Fulbright Chicago Mentoring Program, an initiative spearheaded by Dr. Marilyn Susman, who explained how current international Fulbright students and scholars have been paired with local Fulbright alumni to serve as mentors and support them navigate their stay in the United States.
This program was launched on Sept. 30, 2022, after a one-year trial phase.
Board member Suzanne McBride briefly explained the Fulbright in the Classroom initiative, a program that this year was recognized with an award by the National Fulbright Association in D.C.
Linda Spolleti, an alumna and a mentor, shared a potential new initiative of the Mentoring Committee that involves surveying current visiting students and local universities about services available regarding language comprehension.
Dr. Ana Gil-García, a past president of the chapter and board member, gave a report on the Fulbright Research Speaker Series, a one-year programming that included 11 webinars presented by local and international Fulbright researchers about different topics that started in January this year. Gil-García, as St. Augustine College Director of Academic Effectiveness, organized this program that counted with the support of World Chicago and our local Fulbright Chicago chapter.
Finally, Brian McGough, an alum who completed his Fulbright in Argentina, gave us an update on the expanded social media presence that includes the new LinkedIn page as an additional way to maintain connected with our Fulbright Chicago members.
It was a memorable night that reinforced the efforts of the Fulbright Chicago alumni who enjoyed being together while creating a caring community of Fulbrighters.
FOR OUR FINAL Fulbright Speaker Series, we have a presentation Dr. Mateo Mohammad Farzaneh, Associate Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, and author of the award-winning book “Iranian Women and Gender in the Iran-Iraq War.”
Dr. Mateo Mohammad Farzaneh
In September 2022, an Iranian female journalist followed up with the news of a young woman who had ended up on life-support while in custody of the Islamic Republic’s Moral Police. The 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died as a result and thus began a wave of unprecedented protests led by Iranian women, which has now turned into a national crisis. Earlier, the protestors demanded that the mandatory hijab law of 1979 be rescinded, and the choice of clothing in public be given to them.
TOPIC “Iranian women and their struggle for freedom.”
The government has responded by violently cracking down on the protestors, which is now a mix of male and female young adults.
Dr. Farzaneh will provide an historical overview of Iranian women’s struggle to gain freedom of expression and action that began in the 1800s.
Multimedia journalist Jackie Spinner, associate professor at Columbia College Chicago, will moderate this presentation. Prior to Columbia College Chicago, Spinner was a Washington Post reporter and Baghdad Bureau Chief, surviving attacks, car bombs and a kidnapping in Iraq.
This event is organized by the Office of Academic Effectiveness at St. Augustine College and counts with the support of WorldChicago and the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association.
FOR OUR OCTOBERFulbright Speaker Series, we have a presentation by Associate Professor of Journalism Elio Leturia, who teaches in the Communication Department of Columbia College Chicago. Originally from Peru, Leturia was a Fulbright foreign student at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Most recently, as a Fulbright Senior Scholar, he spent the Spring 22 semester teaching at Universidad de Málaga in Spain.
TOPIC“The Latinx Word, a communication project on self-identification.”
In his presentation, Prof. Leturia will discuss the latest issue of Wanderer magazine that highlights “The Latinx Word,” a subject matter that has caused discussion and controversy among members of the Latino community.
Based on 22 interviews to individuals of Latin American background who live in the Midwest, how do they prefer to be identified as? Latino, Latina, Hispanic, Latinx, Latine, to mention a few?
The Spring 2022 issue of the magazine was produced as a collaborative school project between students from two courses Leturia teaches: People, Power & Narrative: Latino Voices, and Visual Communication.
The courses are offered in the Columbia Experience, and the Communication programs respectively, at Columbia College Chicago. People, Power & Narrative: Latino Voices students reported and wrote the stories providing photography for them. Visual Communication students edited, designed and laid out each story as their final course project.
This event is organized by the Office of Academic Effectiveness at St. Augustine College and counts with the support of WorldChicago and the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association.
In her presentation, Dr. Yair will explain the use of different discourse characteristics in WhatsApp among Israeli teenagers, ages 14-18 between the years 2017-2021.
She will also discuss the many emotional components such as humor, nicknames, and expressions that foster their words and foreign words in their language, which revives the modern Hebrew language and develops it in a way that reveals its dynamic, creative and playful power.
This event is organized by the Office of Academic Effectiveness at St. Augustine College and counts with the support of WorldChicago and the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association.
FOR OUR AUGUST Fulbright Speaker Series, we have a presentation by Dr. Izabella Petriashvili Associate Professor at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University in the Republic of Georgia.
TOPIC “Technology-Enhanced Teaching and Learning at Georgian Higher Education Institutions.”
Technology-enhanced online teaching and learning became a pressing issue due to the COVID 19 Pandemic. The European Union funded DITECH, a national project part of Erasmus+ Capacity Building Programs in Higher Education (2021-2024). The project seeks to empower academic staff at Georgian HEIs on the innovative educational technology adoption in curriculum reform and course design and to improve their digital competencies and skills through groundbreaking education programs and training that use diverse delivery methods, including online/blended teaching and learning.
This event is organized by the Office of Academic Effectiveness at St. Augustine College and counts with the support of WorldChicago and the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association.
The Fulbright Chicago 2022 Spring Farewell event took place at St. Augustine College.
By Ana Gil-García—ST. AUGUSTINE COLLEGE HOSTED the 2022 Spring Farewell event where more than 45 Fulbright visiting scholars, students, and alumni along with friends of the Fulbright Chapter and Consular Corps representatives, enjoyed a celebratory program on June 2.
Twenty-six years earlier, on March 26, 1996, former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley had designated St. Augustine College, located at 1345 West Argyle St. in the Uptown neighborhood, a Chicago landmark.
This higher education institution was home to the legendary Essanay Movie Studios and the film icon, Charles Chaplin.
Dr. Edel Jose, President of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association
Dr. Edel Jose, President of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association, welcomed the audience to this festive event that celebrated the accomplishments of fellow awardees who have completed their Fulbright program in Chicagoland institutions of higher education.
Dr. Reyes González, President of St. Augustine College
Dr. Reyes González, President of St. Augustine College highlighted the participation of our world community stressing the meaning of international education in a post-pandemic era.
Fulbrighters and guests enjoyed Latin American tapas and wine.
Dr. Marilyn Susman, board member of the Chicago Chaper of the Fulbright Association, and creator of the Fulbright Chicago Mentoring Program.
Following the program, Dr. Marilyn Susman, board member of the Fulbright Chicago Chapter and concept developer of the newly Fulbright Mentoring Program, delivered an assessment of the Program pilot, where local Fulbright alumni (or mentors) interact during their stay in Chicagoland with their international mentees. Dr. Susman explained the immediate steps that will follow the establishment of this brand-new initiative of our local chapter.
The mentoring program aims to support an incoming Fulbright student or scholar with their experience in the United States, and who could be better suited than a local Fulbright alumnus to guide and assist an international visitor?
Participants at the Fulbright Chicago 2022 Spring Farewell at St. Augustine College.Participants at the Fulbright Chicago 2022 Spring Farewell at St. Augustine College.
Julia Sosnivka, Program Associate of WorldChicago (a long-time partner of the Fulbright Chapter) talked about both the partnership with the Mentoring Program and the Fulbright Research Speaker Series in which WorldChicago has a relevant role by connecting the Visiting Scholars with other organizations, among them St. Augustine College.
Participants at the Fulbright Chicago 2022 Spring Farewell at St. Augustine College.Ukrainian journalist Yelyzaveta Korneichuk offered a presentation on the situation in Ukraine.
The highlighted speaker in the event was the Ukrainian journalist Yelyzaveta Korneichuk, an ambassador of peace and a Fulbright student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Through pictures and videos, Korneichuk showed the audience the Ukraine that she left behind compared to the bombarded and destroyed country that she may encounter as she prepares to go back.
After her moving presentation, reactions of solidarity and unity permeated The Atrium Hall of St. Augustine College, confirming the team spirit of the Fulbright family.
Fulbright Chicago board member Dr. Ana Gil-García introduces Dr. Joaquín Villegas prior to the Essanay Studios Tour.
The Farewell Spring event concluded with a tour of the Charles Chaplin Hall and the Essanay Movie Studios, guided by Dr. Joaquín Villegas, a Fulbright Scholar to South Africa and Jamaica, and a founding member of St. Augustine College. The anticipated tour visit consisted of six stops at different points of the College’s facilities.
Dr. Joaquín Villegas leads a group on the Essanay Studios tour at St. Augustine College.Fulbright students and scholars at the 2022 Fulbright Chicago Spring Farewell event, that included a tour to Essanay Studios.
The participants had a chance to visualize this chapter in the history of the film industry, as Essanay Studios hosted celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, and first cowboy hero G.M. (Bronco Billy) Anderson. Imagining Charlie Chaplin dressing up in baggy pants, a tight coat, big shoes, a small bowler hat, and a bamboo cane was made possible as Dr. Villegas presented historical facts that included the 15 comedies, including the famous “The Tramp” movie, filmed by the remarkable silent movies actor since 1915 as he joined Essanay Movie Studio, today St. Augustine College premises.
Fulbright students and scholars at the 2022 Fulbright Chicago Spring Farewell event, that included a tour to Essanay Studios.Fulbright students and scholars at the 2022 Fulbright Chicago Spring Farewell event, that included a tour to Essanay Studios.Fulbright students, scholars and alumni at the 2022 Fulbright Chicago Spring Farewell event, that included a tour to Essanay Studios at St. Augustine College.Teuta Peja, Vice President of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association at the registration table.Fulbright students, scholars and alumni at the 2022 Fulbright Chicago Spring Farewell event, that included a tour to Essanay Studios at St. Augustine College.
FOR OUR JULY Fulbright Speaker Series, we have a presentation by Pramantha M. Tagore from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay & Monash University Melbourne Program, who is currently researching at University of Chicago.
TOPIC “Writing Music in 19th Century Colonial Calcutta: Discourse, Interculturality, and Counter-Narratives”
In 19th century Bengal, writers used European concepts such as “enlightenment,” “evolution,” and “social progress” as key concerns informing musical and cultural discourse.
Such entanglements with sociological and political concerns in the music field helped to articulate counter-narratives within an increasingly competitive domain of musical production.
Building upon scholarship on nationalist, anti-colonial, and elite music-making in colonial Calcutta, University of Chicago Fulbright Visiting Scholar Pramantha M. Tagore, argues that intellectual transactions in music informed the framing of two distinct registers for historicization: a dominant upper-class discursive framework emphasizing the superiority of Sanskrit theoretical doctrine, and, a popular counter dialog celebrating evolution, interculturality and social progress.
This event is organized by the Office of Academic Effectiveness at St. Augustine College and counts with the support of WorldChicago and the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association.
COME JOIN THE Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association for an eventful evening with a farewell to the graduating scholars, an insightful speaker from Ukraine, and a conclusion to the first Mentoring Program.
The event will be held at St. Augustine College in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, home of the Essanay Studios, where Charlie Chaplin produced some of his silent films. It will be a wonderful gathering with great conversation, refreshments, and hors d’oeuvres, as we come together to celebrate the success of Fulbrighters throughout the past year.
We hope to see you there!
WHEN June 2, 2022, at 6:30pm
WHERE The Atrium of St. Augustine College
1345 W. Argyle Street, Chicago, IL 60640
WHAT There are three events:
>>EVENING TALK: “A voice from Ukraine: What the war hides and reveals” by speaker Lisa Korneichuk, an editor, writer, and art manager from Kyiv and a current Fulbright student in New Arts Journalism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
>>MENTORING PROGRAM: The Mentoring Project Committee will report on its first year and recognize the mentors and mentees who have participated in the program.
>>CHARLIE CHAPLIN TOUR: Did you know that Charlie Chaplin shot several of his movies in this location? Get a peek on what happened in the movie industry before Hollywood.
CELEBRATING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY of the Fulbright Program, St. Augustine College has launched the 2022 The Fulbright Speaker Series that starts this week.
Every second Wednesday of each month, a Fulbright grantee will speak on a topic of their expertise sharing their current research work in the United States. Our audience includes St. Augustine College students, faculty and alumni, and members of WorldChicago, the Institute of International Education, and the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association.
For the first presentation we have Ljubiša Mićić,below, Fulbright Foreign Student Program, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
TOPIC “Digital Workplace Transformation in Higher Education.”
This presentation will cover how modern organizations require technological, organizational, and procedural changes in order to transform traditional into digital workplaces. Technology has changed how we communicate, and how we collaborate affecting the way we organize our daily lives.
This presentation reviews the subject of the digital workplace transformation with special focus on teaching and research processes in higher education. It also proposes an effective framework for increased success of such processes.
This event counts with the support of WorldChicago and the Fulbright-Association, Chicago Chapter, and has been spearheaded by Dr. Ana Gil-García, Executive Director of Academic Effectiveness at St. Augustine College, and a board member of the Fulbright Chicago Chapter.
FULBRIGHT CHICAGO 